Joyce Kilmer and the rest of you will just have to forgive us for the poem at the end of this article. (We didn't plan to write it. It just sort of whimsed upon us.) By way of introduction, we'll give you a couple of lines by Mr. Kilmer that have been around for quite some time...

"I think that I shall never see A poem as lovely as a tree..."

And now for the whimsy...

I suspect I shall never see A poem as loverly as a me It took an expert horticulturist To make a flower pot like me And besides all that Any nut could make a tree.

Hummm, perhaps we've been out in the sun (or the rain) too way too long!)

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant Save me for thy mercies' sake Oh how great is thy goodness which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee O love the Lord all ye saints for the Lord preserveththe faithful

Be of good cheer and he shall strengthen your heart all ye that hope in the Lord

HONK, HONK Occasionally, while driving along our highways and byways, we have seen bumper stickers that read "Honk, if you love Jesus".

That slogan came to our mind recently when we had to replace our transmission and fuel pump on one of our cars. When those two valuable components give out on you, honking is about all that remains.

And now, we suspect , especially as we read the scriptures, that Jesus wants us to do more than just honk about him. In fact, doesn't he want us to travel down the same road he is travelling? All the honking in the world won't do us much good, if we are travelling down the wrong road, apart from our Lord and master, Jesus Christ.

Many years ago, when we were living in a two-story home, the door to the second floor became accidentally closed and locked. Now, having no key for the door to an upper floor can often lead to frustrating anxiety. (And for a while, it did, too).

To solve this problem, we called a good Baptist neighbor who hurried down to our home with his extension ladder.

We can happily (?) report that his ladder was just barely tall enough to reach the front porch roof. Determined not to avail ourselves of the almost out of reach ladder a second time, again, we forced open one of the bedroom screens. (We already knew that the window was unlocked.) Ever so gingerly, we slowly climbed, one rung at a time until were able to stand on the roof, open the window and take out the screen. As we did so, our frightened, over-sized faithful dog, Pup-Pup crawled out on the roof. After a few unrepeatable words and moments, we managed to push Pup-Pup and ourselves through the window and, once again, save the day.

Climbing the ladder of success (especially the spiritual one) is no easy task. Nevertheless, we have discovered that the climb is necessary and important to our well being. For, you see, every rung does go higher, higher.

SQUASH Prior to becoming the twentieth President of the United States, James A. Garfield served as the president of a small college in his home state of Ohio.

One day a prominent businessman came to Garfield's office and asked if his son couldn't delete a few of the college's required courses so he might graduate in a shorter time, so he could get on with life and making a living.

President Garfield studied his visitor for a few moments and then said, "You know when you plant an acorn, it takes about a hundred years to grow a strong, sturdy oak tree, but it only takes two or three months to grow a squash."

Okay, my fellow students (in and out of college) grow deep roots and maintain sturdy ideals throughout your educational pursuits. Don't grow up to be a squishy squash.

"If in the last few years, you have not discarded a major opinion and acquired a new one, investigate and see if you're not growing senile."

We are happy to report that over the past few years, we have done a little investigating, and we have discovered... That the Bible is truly a lamp unto our feet That God accepts us as we are That my wife is still my best friend That our children and grandchildren are our greatest treasures

"Hey honey, those words don't sound as though they were coming from somebody who's becoming senile, do they? Honey? Dear? Dear? Sweetie...?